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A couple of my tenants in DC broke their lease pretexting the…

Customer Question

A couple of my tenants...

A couple of my tenants in DC broke their lease pretexting the apartment was inhabitable because of mice. There were mice, but not presenting as severe a problem as they claimed. Their lease is up in May, and they vacated on Feb 17 paying only for 17 days instead of the full month rent of $2400.00. In addition they left damaged walls and floors, for which repairs are estimated over $2600. I want to know if I am within my rights as a landlord to claim for the unpaid portion of the Feb rent plus costs of repairs for the damages.

Hello and thank you for the opportunity to assist you. Please remember that there might be a delay between your follow ups and my replies because I am typing out my answer, or taking a quick break.

I am sorry for your situation. Under Washington DC's laws, a landlord has a duty to provide habitable apartments or houses and to repair housing code violations. This is called a warranty of habitability, recognized in by DCs circuit (Javins v. First National Realty Corporation, 428 F. 2d 1071 - Court of Appeals, Dist. of Columbia Circuit 1970). The same Court held that if the landlord breaks that warranty, the tenant may move out without paying and not be held liable for the lease.

The warranty of habitability is both in statutory law and common law. In sum, it demands that the apartment is habitable. According to the DC Housing Code, insects such as roaches, ants, water bugs, etc. are prohibited. However, if they appear, does this void the lease under the warranty of habitability, automatically?

The statutes or Courts give no clear answer. Therefore, it is a subjective matter. Either party may take the issue to Court and the Judge would decide based on the following factors:

-was the infestation cased by the tenants' lack of cleanliness or the property lacking the proper defenses?-how long after the tenants complained did the landlord act to stop the infestation?-did the landlord act?-did the tenants give the landlord an ultimatum?-was the season ripe for such an infestation and was such an infestation the norm given the age/condition of the property?

In the end, it is the Judge's decision. Therefore, you can contest the deposit and if they feel that this is an issue, they are free to take it to small claims court and then the Court would decide.

Finally, damages property is indeed deductible from the deposit. Anything beyond natural wear and tear is. Make sure to take photographs to have proof aside from just your word that illustrate the reasonable deductions.

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The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).